New beach fest seeks to boost area

Parrot Head gala aims for tourists to visit Oak Island and Southport

Published: Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 26, 2013 at 11:49 p.m.

Seeking to boost tourism in one of the slower weeks of the summer season, the Southport Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce is organizing a Jimmy Buffett-inspired beach festival for the weekend of Aug. 24.

Facts

Business booster?

What: Phlock to the BeachWhen: Aug. 23-25Where: Southport and Oak IslandDetails: Festival events begin with two shuttle-facilitated pub crawls on Friday night, one in Southport and another on Oak Island. Saturday brings family-oriented beach games and contests at Cape Fear Regional Jetport, volleyball and bocce ball tournaments at the beach, and a concert at the jetport by bands Latitude and Key Lime Pie. The final event will be a pancake breakfast on Sunday morning at the jetport as a fundraiser for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s local chapter No. 939.Admission: Tickets are available at the chamber of commerce office at 4433 Long Beach Road and through the chamber’s smartphone application, available at Google Play and iTunes app stores, searchable under the name “Southport Oak Island.”

Though there is no official involvement from the famous musician, the “Phlock to the Beach” event owes its theme to Buffett and his Parrot Heads, the name given to the colorful fans of Buffett’s music and easygoing beach lifestyle.

Chamber Director Karen Sphar hopes the festival will prove a boon to the local economy as well as act as a fundraiser for the chamber of commerce in a time when the summer tourist season slows down and students head back to school.

“We expect the festival cost to the chamber at between $8,000 and $10,000, with the concert being the biggest expense,” Sphar said. “I’ve done some estimating on the economic impact to the area, and I put it at just under $200,000 and that’s a conservative low estimate.”

One business owner hoping for high ticket sales to the festival is Jeff Todd, an 18-year member of the chamber of commerce and a part owner of the Turtle Island Restaurant.

“If they get good ticket sales we will make some good money,” Todd said. “I’ll be one of two or three vendors at the concert, doing beach-theme sandwiches and jerk chicken like I like to do.”

Todd said his business has been up recently because of the movie industry’s return to the area and an improving national economy, with 2012 his best year for sales since the financial crisis. He’s hoping this year will top last.

“It’s been madness lately, and I’m sure Labor Day will be madness too,” Todd said.

The festival targets a weekend that is normally slow, he said. “I’m hoping we can just break even, but if we make money we will do this again.”

The festival was proposed to the chamber by Barb

Olsen-Gwin, who co-owns Cape Fear Airworks Inc. and Brunswick Air with her husband, Rich.

“We went to one Buffett concert in Charlotte, and the Parrot Head party in the parking lot was unbelievable. Everyone was having a good time,” Olsen-Gwin said. “That’s what I wanted to emulate here – a little silly, a little crazy, but something everyone could get into.”

With the concert taking place on an extra runway at the jetport, Olsen-Gwin hopes the festival will raise interest in the Civil Air Patrol and bring additional business and publicity to her aviation companies

Seth Robbins, chamber of commerce president and a general manager with Oak Island Accommodations, which manages 600 rental properties, hopes the event will attract added tourism money from the vacationers who visit Oak Island and bring local businesses the majority of their revenue for the year.

Vacationers such as Roland Houston, visiting from Arkansas, who spent Monday morning fishing from Ocean Crest Pier alongside a dozen other tourists and families.

“I came out here for a conference and brought my family to spend time at the beach and do some fishing for a summer break,” Houston said. “This is our first time here. We’ve enjoyed it and would like to come back.”

<p>Seeking to boost tourism in one of the slower weeks of the summer season, the Southport Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce is organizing a Jimmy Buffett-inspired beach festival for the weekend of Aug. 24.</p><p>Though there is no official involvement from the famous musician, the “Phlock to the Beach” event owes its theme to Buffett and his Parrot Heads, the name given to the colorful fans of Buffett's music and easygoing beach lifestyle.</p><p>Chamber Director Karen Sphar hopes the festival will prove a boon to the local economy as well as act as a fundraiser for the chamber of commerce in a time when the summer tourist season slows down and students head back to school.</p><p>“We expect the festival cost to the chamber at between $8,000 and $10,000, with the concert being the biggest expense,” Sphar said. “I've done some estimating on the economic impact to the area, and I put it at just under $200,000 and that's a conservative low estimate.”</p><p>One business owner hoping for high ticket sales to the festival is Jeff Todd, an 18-year member of the chamber of commerce and a part owner of the Turtle Island Restaurant.</p><p>“If they get good ticket sales we will make some good money,” Todd said. “I'll be one of two or three vendors at the concert, doing beach-theme sandwiches and jerk chicken like I like to do.”</p><p>Todd said his business has been up recently because of the movie industry's return to the area and an improving national economy, with 2012 his best year for sales since the financial crisis. He's hoping this year will top last.</p><p>“It's been madness lately, and I'm sure Labor Day will be madness too,” Todd said.</p><p>The festival targets a weekend that is normally slow, he said. “I'm hoping we can just break even, but if we make money we will do this again.”</p><p>The festival was proposed to the chamber by Barb </p><p>Olsen-Gwin, who co-owns Cape Fear Airworks Inc. and Brunswick Air with her husband, Rich.</p><p>“We went to one Buffett concert in Charlotte, and the Parrot Head party in the parking lot was unbelievable. Everyone was having a good time,” Olsen-Gwin said. “That's what I wanted to emulate here – a little silly, a little crazy, but something everyone could get into.”</p><p>With the concert taking place on an extra runway at the jetport, Olsen-Gwin hopes the festival will raise interest in the Civil Air Patrol and bring additional business and publicity to her aviation companies </p><p>Seth Robbins, chamber of commerce president and a general manager with Oak Island Accommodations, which manages 600 rental properties, hopes the event will attract added tourism money from the vacationers who visit Oak Island and bring local businesses the majority of their revenue for the year.</p><p>Vacationers such as Roland Houston, visiting from Arkansas, who spent Monday morning fishing from Ocean Crest Pier alongside a dozen other tourists and families. </p><p>“I came out here for a conference and brought my family to spend time at the beach and do some fishing for a summer break,” Houston said. “This is our first time here. We've enjoyed it and would like to come back.”</p><p>Metro desk: 343-2389</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @StarNewsOnline</p>